"We were lucky to be invited to be a part of the Re:start project which was the initial reopening of the Christchurch CBD," Cowper said.

"It was meant to be a short-term project but when we started, we realised we could use our national reach in terms of retail distribution to raise awareness, but also support a good cause and help an icon of Christchurch get back on its feet."

This "icon" was the Court Theatre which Hummingbird donated $121,000 to for its reopening.

The theatre company in Addington suffered significant damage during the 2011 quake, and was forced to move location.

With help from fundraising and other donations including Hummingbird's, the theatre reopened in an old grain silo, now commonly known as The Shed.

With another roughly $100,000 in a fund, Hummingbird is on the look out for its next project.

Cowper said while it was great to give back to the community, the social responsibility aspect had always been a major for the business.

"We were the first company with TradeAid to start bringing organic fair-trade coffee into New Zealand back in 2002 or 2003 so that social piece has always been a big component for us," he said.